Sleep Paralysis – Coping With An Unusual Condition (Part 1)
Sleep paralysis is a serious sleep disorder in which the affected individual feels incapable of movement. A person affected with sleep paralysis will usually experience the feeling that they are unable to execute voluntary physical movement at the onset of sleep (sometimes referred to as hypnogogic), or just upon waking (or the hypnopompic period). Sufferers of sleep paralysis complain that they are unable to move their legs, arms, and trunk upon waking or at falling asleep. In many cases, sleep paralysis may be accompanied with strong dream-related mentation, and sometimes even hallucinations. Some individuals report the feeling of something or someone applying pressure on their chest.
Sleep paralysis appears to be caused by a short-termed episode of muscle paralysis. Fortunately, this sleep disorder does not appear to cause harm to an individual’s health. However, individuals who suffer from sleep paralysis often report feeling frightened at not being able to move, and experience considerable stress at not knowing when the effects of a sleep paralysis episode will subside, or when a new episode will occur.
Who is more likely to experience sleep paralysis? It appears that small children are more susceptible to the effects of sleep paralysis, although the condition also appears in healthy adults. Individuals who suffer from other sleep disorders, especially narcolepsy, are much more likely to experience sleep paralysis. In fact, many episodes of sleep paralysis are the result of complications from narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder in which an individual experiences bouts of uncontrollable daytime sleepiness. One of the main symptoms of narcolepsy is cataplexy, or paralysis experienced without the loss of consciousness. Thus, it is thought that sleep paralysis may be related to narcolepsy, although many individuals who suffer from sleep paralysis do not have narcolepsy.
